Key Findings
• As per the official ECP data, Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) secured 2.2 million votes in the 2018 elections and emerged as the fifth largest party countrywide.
• According to an analysis of the election data by The News, the winning margin on at least 19 National Assembly constituencies was lesser than the votes obtained by TLP in that constituency.
• Analysts think that if all TLP voters had cast their vote for PML-N, the party could have secured approximately 13 more seats in the National Assembly.
• In addition, for at least 17 National Assembly constituencies in Punjab, the TLP had significant influence in altering the results; it had more votes than the difference between the winning and losing candidates.
• If these TLP votes had gone to PTI, the PML-N would have lost important seats in 2018.
• Therefore, the alliance of TLP with either PTI or PML-N would have significantly changed the results for the winning party.
• TLP was a major game player in the 2018 general elections.
